Pondering Psalm 103

¹ Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Are there times when you do not feel like worshiping? You walk into church and the music starts and your heart just isn’t in it. Or you know you need some time alone with God but you have a bad case of the “I don’t want to’s.” I get the feeling that David was feeling this way as he sat down to journal. The first two verses almost sound to me as if he is telling himself to “Praise the Lord.”

In order to get himself into a worship mode he does something which I think is key for anyone who just doesn’t feel like worshiping. He begins rehearsing all the things that God has done for him. And as he reflects, he  remembers why he should worship. He was made to worship God and beyond that there are innumerable reasons why he should worship God.

Just as there are for us.

He has forgiven all our sins. (v.3) He has removed them as far as the east is from the west. (v.12) That calls for worship!

He has redeemed our lives from the pit (v.4)  In other words the changed our destiny and our eternal destination. We were bound for hell on a fast train but now we are on a pilgrimage to heaven. That calls for worship!

He has crowned us with love and compassion (v.4) He did not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. (v.10) He saw us in our miserable state. He saw what the influence of evil had done to us. He saw our despair and our ever searching for something, anything, that would satisfy our hearts. And instead of judging us because we had defamed His name, He showed us incredible kindness. That calls for worship!

He satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth in renewed (v.5) I am now 54 and I will admit that I can’t do some of the things I could as a younger man. But I firmly believe that because God has satisfied my heart my youth is renewed daily – I don’t feel like (and hopefully don’t act like) an older man. That calls for worship!

So here’s the point. Most likely you did not wake up in a worship mode this morning. Nothing unusual about that. But don’t let that stop you from being a worshiper. Take some time to rehearse ALL that God has done for you and let the Spirit of God draw you into worship.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week: Psalm 119:1-40